New Scientist - Home

First treaty to protect the high seas comes into force Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:01:57 +0000 A United Nations agreement for the “conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity” in the open oceans has now taken effect

Our elegant universe: rethinking nature’s deepest principle Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:00:44 +0000 For centuries, the principle of symmetry has guided physicists towards more fundamental truths, but now a slew of shocking findings suggest a far stranger idea from quantum theory could be a deeper driving force

Meat may play an unexpected role in helping people reach 100 Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:00:10 +0000 Longevity diets often focus on going plant-based, but a study in China has linked eating meat to a long lifespan, particularly among older people who are underweight

Amateur mathematicians solve long-standing maths problems with AI Fri, 16 Jan 2026 15:24:18 +0000 Professional mathematicians have been stunned by the progress amateurs have made in solving long-standing problems with the assistance of AI tools, and say it could lead to a new way of doing mathematics

How to finally get a grasp on quantum computing Fri, 16 Jan 2026 15:00:53 +0000 If your New Year’s resolution is to understand quantum computing this year, take a cue from a 9-year-old podcaster talking to some of the biggest minds in the field, says quantum columnist Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Cancelling plans may be more socially acceptable than you think Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:00:55 +0000 Volunteers consider it relatively unacceptable to cancel social plans – but they are more forgiving if it's someone else cancelling the plans

Earliest ever supernova sheds light on the first stars Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:00:58 +0000 The James Webb Space Telescope has picked up the light from a massive star that exploded about a billion years after the birth of the universe

A leading use for quantum computers might not need them after all Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:00:05 +0000 Understanding a molecule that plays a key role in nitrogen fixing – a chemical process that enables life on Earth – has long been thought of as problem for quantum computers, but now a classical computer may have solved it

Body fat supports your health in surprisingly complex ways Thu, 15 Jan 2026 19:00:22 +0000 Evidence is mounting that our body fat supports everything from our bone health to our mood, and now, research suggests it also regulates blood pressure and immunity

New Scientist recommends Why We Drink Too Much for Dry January Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

These striking photos are a window into the world of quantum physics Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:00:45 +0000 David Severn has taken a series of images of scientists working on quantum physics for King’s College London’s new Quantum Untangled exhibition

We're getting intimate with chatbots. A new book asks what this means Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 AI chatbots can take on many roles in our lives. James Muldoon's Love Machines looks into the relationships we're forging with them

Lithium-ion batteries could last longer with chemical tweak Thu, 15 Jan 2026 20:00:59 +0000 It's difficult to form a protective coating that prolongs battery life at the battery's cathode, but there may be a low-cost chemical solution

Distant 'little red dot' galaxies may contain baby black holes Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:00:19 +0000 Since launching in 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope has found hundreds of distant and apparently bright galaxies dubbed "little red dots", and now it seems they may each carry a baby black hole

Fossil may solve mystery of what one of the weirdest-ever animals ate Thu, 15 Jan 2026 15:00:53 +0000 Hallucigenia was such an odd animal that palaeontologists reconstructed it upside-down when they first analysed its fossils - and now we may know what it ate

6 ways to help your children have a healthy relationship with food Thu, 15 Jan 2026 11:56:39 +0000 Getting kids to eat well can be a minefield and a source of tension. Nancy Bostock, a consultant paediatrician, says these are the six things she recommends when dealing with fussy eaters and the way we talk about food with kids.

China has applied to launch 200,000 satellites, but what are they for? Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:00:58 +0000 A Chinese application to the International Telecommunications Union suggests plans for the largest satellite mega constellation ever built – but something else might be going on here

All major AI models risk encouraging dangerous science experiments Thu, 15 Jan 2026 10:36:11 +0000 Researchers risk fire, explosion or poisoning by allowing AI to design experiments, warn scientists. Some 19 different AI models were tested on hundreds of questions to assess their ability to spot and avoid hazards and none recognised all issues – with some doing little better than random guessing

Why non-human culture should change how we see nature Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 Our growing understanding of how other animals also share skills and knowledge will help us chip away at the folly of human exceptionalism, say Philippa Brakes and Marc Bekoff

Cheating just three times massively ups the chance of winning at chess Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:00:12 +0000 Using a chess computer to advise you on just three moves during a game dramatically increases your chances of winning in a way that is difficult for others to spot

Woolly rhino genome recovered from meat in frozen wolf pup’s stomach Wed, 14 Jan 2026 17:01:56 +0000 A piece of woolly rhinoceros flesh hidden inside a wolf that died 14,400 years ago has yielded genetic information that improves our understanding of why one of the most iconic megafauna species of the last glacial period went extinct

Sinking river deltas put millions at risk of flooding Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:00:15 +0000 Some of the world’s biggest megacities are located in river deltas threatened by subsidence due to excessive groundwater extraction and urban expansion, compounding the threat they face from sea-level rise

T. rex took 40 years to become fully grown Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:00:45 +0000 An analysis of growth rings in the leg bones of 17 Tyrannosaurus rex individuals reveals that the dinosaurs matured much more slowly than previously thought, and adds to the evidence that they weren't all one species

We must completely change the way we build homes to stay below 2°C Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:00:34 +0000 Construction generates between 10 and 20 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, but cities can slash their climate impact by designing buildings in a more efficient way

Sooner-than-expected climate impacts could cost the world trillions Wed, 14 Jan 2026 03:00:58 +0000 A report warns that we may have seriously underestimated the rate of warming, which could damage economic growth

These small lifestyle tweaks can add a year to your life Tue, 13 Jan 2026 23:30:15 +0000 A few extra minutes of sleep per day or an extra half-serving of vegetables with dinner can add a year to our lives, according to an analysis of data from 60,000 people

The hunt for where the last Neanderthals lived Tue, 13 Jan 2026 18:00:53 +0000 Clues from studies of ancient plants and animals have helped archaeologists pin down where the last Neanderthals found refuge, says columnist Michael Marshall

Greenland sharks survive for centuries with diseased hearts Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:00:08 +0000 A study of the hearts of Greenland sharks has found that the long-lived deep-sea predator has massive accumulations of ageing markers, such as severe scarring, but this doesn't appear to affect their health or longevity

We're about to simulate a human brain on a supercomputer Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:07:15 +0000 The world’s most powerful supercomputers can now run simulations of billions of neurons, and researchers hope such models will offer unprecedented insights into how our brains work

Pompeii’s public baths were unhygienic until the Romans took over Mon, 12 Jan 2026 20:00:26 +0000 Before the Romans captured Pompeii, the famous town was run by the Samnite people – and a dip in their public baths might have been an unpleasant experience

Quantum computers could help sharpen images of exoplanets Mon, 12 Jan 2026 18:00:06 +0000 Combining two kinds of quantum computing devices could be just the trick for taking better images of faint, faraway exoplanets

Is there an evolutionary reason for same-sex sexual behaviour? Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:00:19 +0000 Sexual behaviour among same-sex pairs is common in apes and monkeys, and a wide-ranging analysis suggests it does boost survival

Why it’s easy to be misunderstood when talking about probability Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:00:37 +0000 Mathematicians rely on numbers, but finding words to explain different levels of certainty has stymied everyone from the ancient Greeks to the most famous modern philosophers. Maths columnist Jacob Aron tells the story of how a CIA analyst finally cracked it

Making autism into a partisan issue can only be harmful Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 While US President Donald Trump and his administration are making false and debunked claims about the causes of autism, real research is improving our understanding of the condition

Sinking trees in Arctic Ocean could remove 1 billion tonnes of CO2 Fri, 09 Jan 2026 20:00:52 +0000 Cutting down boreal forest and sinking the felled trees in the depths of the Arctic Ocean could remove up to 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year – but it could come at a cost to the Arctic ecosystem

How rethinking your relationship with time could give you more of it Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:00:13 +0000 You might feel like the days and weeks are slipping by. Here is how one psychologist says you can shift your experience of time

Why my 2026 fitness resolution is all about getting mobile Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 After finding success with last year's New Year's resolution, health reporter Grace Wade has grand plans for 2026 – and the science to back them up

The secret weapon that could finally force climate action Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:00:29 +0000 An ambitious form of climate modelling aims to pin the blame for disasters – from floods to heatwaves – on specific companies. Is this the tool we need to effectively prosecute the world’s biggest carbon emitters?

The science-fiction films to look forward to in 2026 Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 With a new 28 Days Later movie and a new Dune, not to mention films from Stephen Spielberg and Ridley Scott, this is shaping up to be a vintage year for sci-fi, says Simon Ings

NASA is performing an unprecedented medical evacuation from the ISS Fri, 09 Jan 2026 18:00:43 +0000 One of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station is undergoing a “medical situation”, forcing NASA to bring the crew home early for the first time ever

Microbiome study hints that fibre could be linked to better sleep Fri, 09 Jan 2026 18:00:15 +0000 Evidence is mounting that specific gut bacteria are linked to sleep conditions, which may open the doors to dietary recommendations aiming to boost the quality of our slumbers

What if the idea of the autism spectrum is completely wrong? Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:10:03 +0000 For years, we've thought of autism as lying on a spectrum, but emerging evidence suggests that it comes in several distinct types. The implications for how we support autistic people could be profound

Why does the United States want to buy Greenland? Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:00:36 +0000 The ice-covered island may be strategically important, but it's unclear that it could be a commercially viable source of minerals and oil in the near future

Quantum neural network may be able to cheat the uncertainty principle Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:00:02 +0000 Calculations show that injecting randomness into a quantum neural network could help it determine properties of quantum objects that are otherwise fundamentally hard to access

You can upgrade your immune system, but not in the way you think Mon, 22 Dec 2025 12:00:57 +0000 From vitamin C to your microbiome and mindset, the latest science of immunity is often counterintuitive. Here's how to give your system a fighting chance to overcome infection

Are we living in a simulation? This experiment could tell us Mon, 08 Dec 2025 10:00:13 +0000 The idea that we might be living in a simulated reality has worried us for centuries. Now physicists have found some tantalising clues – and devised an experiment that might reveal the truth

A sinister, deadly brain protein could reveal the origins of all life Mon, 01 Dec 2025 16:00:16 +0000 We have long struggled to determine how the first living organisms on Earth came together. Now, surprising evidence hints that poorly understood prions may have been the vital missing ingredient

A new understanding of causality could fix quantum theory’s fatal flaw Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:00:39 +0000 Quantum theory fails to explain how the reality we experience emerges from the world of particles. A new take on quantum cause and effect could bridge the gap

Man whose gut made its own alcohol gets relief from faecal transplant Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:00:54 +0000 A man with auto-brewery syndrome, a rare condition in which gut microbes produce intoxicating levels of alcohol, has been successfully treated with faeces from a super donor

'Knitted' satellite launching to monitor Earth's surface with radar Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:00:27 +0000 A standard industrial knitting machine has been modified to produce fabrics from tungsten wire coated in gold, which are used to form the dish on the CarbSAR satellite

City-sized iceberg has turned into a giant swimming pool Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:00:09 +0000 Satellite photos show meltwater on the surface of iceberg A23a collecting in an unusual way, which may be a sign that the huge berg is about to break apart

These images explore a 'utopic' village built for teaching maths Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 The Nesin Mathematics Village in western Turkey was dreamed up by award-winning mathematician Ali Nesin to engage his students

Tree bark microbiome has important overlooked role in climate Thu, 08 Jan 2026 19:00:18 +0000 Tree bark has a total surface area similar to all of the land area on Earth. It is home to a wide range of microbial species unknown to science, and they can either take up or emit gases that have a warming effect on the climate

Some quantum computers might need more power than supercomputers Thu, 08 Jan 2026 17:00:11 +0000 A preliminary analysis suggests that industrially useful quantum computers designs come with a broad spectrum of energy footprints, including some larger than the most powerful existing supercomputers

Hominin fossils from Morocco may be close ancestors of modern humans Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:00:50 +0000 The jawbones and vertebrae of a hominin that lived 773,000 years ago have been found in North Africa and could represent a common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans

I'm calling it – 2026 is going to be the year of the galaxy Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 We are going to be getting a lot of exciting new information about galaxies in 2026, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, who can't wait to see what it can tell us

Red tattoo ink causes man to lose all his hair and stop sweating Thu, 08 Jan 2026 13:00:21 +0000 A man’s severe reaction to a tattoo, which made all his hair fall out and destroyed his sweat glands, has reignited concerns about the immune effects of some tattoo inks

Passwords will be on the way out in 2026 as passkeys take over Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:00:46 +0000 The curse of having to remember easily hackable passwords may soon be over, as a new alternative is set to take over in 2026

Why connecting with nature shouldn't mean disconnecting from science Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 There is a growing trend to see our relationship with nature as a spiritual thing. This is a mistake, argues Richard Smyth

The best new science-fiction shows of 2026 Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000 From Fallout and Gen Z Star Trek to the classic Neuromancer, you will be glued to the TV this year, says TV columnist Bethan Ackerley

Exercise may relieve depression as effectively as antidepressants Thu, 08 Jan 2026 01:00:25 +0000 A comprehensive review confirms the benefits of exercise for treating depression, even if the exact reasons remain unclear

Weight regain seems to occur within 2 years of stopping obesity drugs Wed, 07 Jan 2026 23:30:56 +0000 Drugs like Ozempic have transformed how we treat obesity, but a review of almost 40 studies shows it doesn't take long for people to regain weight if they come off them

Hunting with poison arrows may have begun 60,000 years ago in Africa Wed, 07 Jan 2026 19:00:14 +0000 A collection of arrow points excavated in South Africa has provided the oldest direct evidence of hunters deploying plant-based poisons on their weapons, a practice that has continued into modern times in some traditional cultures

Super-low-density worlds reveal how common planetary systems form Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:00:33 +0000 Most planetary systems contain worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and the low-density planets around one young star should help us understand how such systems form

Early humans may have begun butchering elephants 1.8 million years ago Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:00:57 +0000 A 1.78-million-year-old partial elephant skeleton found in Tanzania associated with stone tools may represent the oldest known evidence of butchery of the giant herbivores

AI chatbots miss urgent issues in queries about women's health Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:00:34 +0000 AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini fail to give adequate advice for 60 per cent of queries relating to women’s health in a test created by medical professionals

CAR T-cell therapy makes ageing guts heal themselves Wed, 07 Jan 2026 08:00:11 +0000 Immune cells are most commonly engineered to kill cancers, but now, scientists have shown the technique makes the gut lining of older mice resemble that of younger mice, raising hopes that the same approach could work in people

The first quantum fluctuations set into motion a huge cosmic mystery Tue, 06 Jan 2026 18:00:44 +0000 The earliest acoustic vibrations in the cosmos weren’t exactly sound – they travelled at half the speed of light and there was nobody around to hear them anyway. But Jim Baggott says from the first moments, the universe was singing

Jellyfish sleep about as much as humans do – and nap like us too Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:00:30 +0000 The benefits of sleep may be more universal than we thought. We know it helps clear waste from the brain in humans, and now it seems that even creatures without brains like ours get similar benefits

The first commercial space stations will start orbiting Earth in 2026 Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:00:42 +0000 For nearly three decades, the International Space Station has been the only destination in low Earth orbit, but that will change this year. Could it be the start of a thriving economy in space?

US will need both carrots and sticks to reach net zero Tue, 06 Jan 2026 12:00:22 +0000 Modelling suggests both carbon taxes and green subsidies will be necessary to decarbonise the US economy, but the inconsistent policies of successive presidents are the "worst case" scenario

BepiColombo mission will start to unpick Mercury's secrets in 2026 Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:29 +0000 The BepiColombo mission has been on its way to Mercury since 2018 and will finally start orbiting the planet and taking X-ray images in the second half of 2026

Northern Greenland ice dome melted before and could melt again Mon, 05 Jan 2026 18:30:55 +0000 The Prudhoe ice dome disappeared during a warm period 7000 years ago. Global warming could cause similar temperatures by 2100, showing the Greenland ice sheet’s vulnerability

Weird clump in the early universe is piping hot and we don’t know why Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:00:51 +0000 A galaxy cluster in the early universe is 10 times hotter than it ought to be, which may reshape how we think these enormous structures formed

El Niño was linked to famines in Europe in the early modern period Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:00:19 +0000 A study of 160 European famines between 1500 and 1800 shows that El Niño weather events led to the onset of some famines and extended the duration of others

The best new popular science books of January 2026 Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:00:17 +0000 A host of new science books are due to hit shelves in January, by authors including Claudia Hammond, Deborah Cohen and Daisy Fancourt

2026 will shed light on whether a little-known drug helps with autism Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:00:49 +0000 The US government is approving the drug leucovorin to address rising rates of autism, despite limited evidence that it works. This year, results from the largest trial yet should give more insight into its potential

Ghostly particles might just break our understanding of the universe Mon, 05 Jan 2026 08:00:49 +0000 An analysis of several experiments aimed at detecting the mysterious neutrino has identified a hint of a crack in the standard model of particle physics

A strange kind of quantumness may be key to quantum computers' success Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:00:59 +0000 Researchers at Google have used their Willow quantum computer to demonstrate that "quantum contextuality" may be a crucial ingredient for its computational prowess

Controversial satellites launching in 2026 will reflect light to Earth Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:56 +0000 Reflect Orbital plans to launch thousands of reflective mirrors to produce "sunlight on demand", but researchers are sceptical about whether the reflected light will be enough to generate electricity

The best new science fiction books of January 2026 Mon, 05 Jan 2026 10:00:38 +0000 Big hitter Peter F. Hamilton has a new sci-fi novel out this month – and Booker winner George Saunders ventures into speculative fiction with his latest book, Vigil

2026 is set to be an even bigger year for weight-loss drugs Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 GLP-1 agonists have already had an outsized influence on society, and with pill versions and more advanced formulations on the horizon, that looks set to continue

See how fire has changed the world's largest wetland, the Pantanal Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Stunning and shocking images from upcoming exhibition Water Pantanal Fire show how this tropical wetland has been hit by wildfires

Why stroking seedlings can help them grow big and strong Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 The science behind why stroking your seedlings actually works. If you’re worried about your seedlings getting long and leggy, try a bit of home thigmomorphogenesis, advises James Wong

Why I'm going to reap the mental health benefits of stargazing in 2026 Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Navigating the night sky can have a positive effect on our well-being. This will be the year I learn the constellations, resolves Michael Brooks

Was our earliest ancestor a knuckle-dragger, or did it walk upright? Fri, 02 Jan 2026 19:00:36 +0000 Did Sahelanthropus, which lived 7 million years ago, walk on two legs like a modern human? It's complicated

Russia-US nuclear pact is about to end and we won't see another Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:32 +0000 After the New START treaty expires in February, there will be no cap on the number of US and Russian nuclear weapons - but some are sceptical about whether the deal actually made the world safer

Gargantuan black hole may be a remnant from the dawn of the universe Fri, 02 Jan 2026 12:00:18 +0000 Astronomers were puzzled by a black hole around 50 million times the mass of the sun with no stars, spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope – now simulations suggest it could be a primordial black hole, something we have never seen before

Chess can be made fairer by rearranging the pieces Thu, 01 Jan 2026 19:00:10 +0000 Chess960 involves shuffling the pieces at the back of the board, and an analysis suggests doing so can increase the complexity of the game to favour white, black or neither player

The cost of weight-loss drugs should fall in 2026 Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:12 +0000 The price of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy put them out of reach for most people with obesity, but new arrivals and expiring patents should change that this year

Our verdict on The Player of Games: Iain M. Banks is still a master Fri, 02 Jan 2026 08:55:57 +0000 The New Scientist Book Club has just finished our December read, Iain M. Banks's sci-fi novel The Player of Games - and most of us were fans of this big-thinking Culture tale

The challenges of writing from the perspective of a sex robot Fri, 02 Jan 2026 08:45:44 +0000 The author of the award-winning science fiction novel Annie Bot, the January read for the New Scientist Book Club, on how she created her startling protagonist

Read an extract from Annie Bot by Sierra Greer Fri, 02 Jan 2026 08:45:00 +0000 In this extract from the award-winning science fiction novel Annie Bot, the January read for the New Scientist Book Club, we are introduced to Sierra Greer's protagonist, a sex robot called Annie

Murder victim discovered to have two sets of DNA due to rare condition Fri, 02 Jan 2026 08:00:32 +0000 A woman's body has been found to consist of varying proportions of male and female cells because of an extremely rare form of chimerism

The best new popular science books of 2026 Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Clear out your shelves for a bumper new crop of books by authors including Naomi Klein, Rebecca Solnit and Xand Van Tulleken, says culture editor Alison Flood

The best new science fiction books of 2026 Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 On the horizon for this year are Ann Leckie's latest, Neil Jordan's debut and more from Adrian Tchaikovsky. Exciting times, says our sci-fi columnist Emily H. Wilson

Rare Saturn-sized rogue planet is first to have its mass measured Thu, 01 Jan 2026 19:00:40 +0000 Researchers have confirmed the mass of a free-floating planet thanks to a lucky convergence of ground- and space-based telescopes

World's first subsea desalination facility will start running in 2026 Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:28 +0000 Flocean, a Norwegian company, is set to open the world’s first commercial-scale subsea desalination plant, an approach that could cut the cost and energy used to make seawater drinkable

2026 Mars mission will set out to solve the mystery of its moons Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:10 +0000 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will be launching the Martian Moons eXploration mission next year, which should finally tell us how Mars acquired the moons Phobos and Deimos

Could James and the Giant Peach inspire the future of food? Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 In the latest in our imagined history of inventions yet to come, Future Chronicles columnist Rowan Hooper reveals how by the 2030s, botanists had worked out how to grow hybridised superplants to help feed the world